2021 USTFCCCA Outdoor Regional Award Winners

NEW ORLEANS – Less than a week from the start of the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, Academy of Art's Marie-Jeanne Ourega and James Young were once again recipients of top regional awards as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Friday. For their achievements during the outdoor season, Ourega was named West Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year and Young collected West Region Men's Track Athlete of the Year.

"Both student-athletes have earned all of the accolades being bestowed upon them and this is just another representation of all the hard work they have both put in this season," said Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Kevin LaSure. "Both James and Marie-Jeanne are special student-athletes and the best is yet to come for them if they continue to work hard and stay focused."

Following her All-American performances in the horizontal jumps during this past indoor season, Ourega saw her success continue into this subsequent outdoor campaign. At the APU Invitational on Apr. 3, she soared to a 21-7.25 (6.58m) distance in the long jump, automatically qualifying for NCAA Division II Outdoor Nationals with the top mark in the country. Particularly significant, the effort went down as the fourth-farthest among all-conditions marks in NCAA DII history and resulted in her being named both USTFCCCA DII National Athlete of the Week and PacWest Field Athlete of the Week (her second honor of the season after one on Mar. 26).

The native of L'Haÿ-les-Roses, France proceeded to capture the PacWest long jump title on Apr. 30, posting a wind-legal distance of 21-3.5 (6.49m). The mark both broke the conference record and was eight-best in NCAA DII history. Ourega then started the month of May by taking second place in the triple jump at the PacWest meet (first among freshmen) then rose to 13th in the country after posting a 40-10.25 (12.45m) in her final meet of the regular season (APU Last Chance Twilight on May 15). In ART U program history, Ourega, who recently was named both PacWest Field Athlete and Field Freshman of the Year, ranks second in the long jump to multi-time Hall of Famer Vashti Thomas and fifth in the triple jump.

Young rode the momentum from becoming the NCAA Division II National Champion in the indoor mile into what has been a memorable outdoor season thus far. In his first outdoor race, the 5000m at the APU Invitational on Apr. 3, he debuted at third in program history with a time of 14:09.50 which has remained among the nation's top 30 as an Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifier.

Two weeks later, however, Young's biggest highlight of the season came at the Bryan Clay Invitational where he delivered the second-fastest 1500m effort in NCAA DII history at 3:37.72. Still first among NCAA DII runners by nearly four seconds, the performance led the Advertising major to be named both USTFCCCA DII National Athlete of the Week and PacWest Track Athlete of the Week in addition to breaking the program record. Those stellar outings behind him, Young cruised to PacWest titles in both the 1500m and 5000m on May 1. The PacWest Track Athlete of the Year, he closed out the regular season with the third-fastest 1500m time in NCAA DII history, 3:38.31, at Sound Running's "Track Meet" on May 15. 

This is the second time in Young and Ourega's careers that they have been recognized with USTFCCCA Regional Athlete of the Year honors after both were selected this past indoor season.